Category Archives: Liberal

If political philosophy were a religion, the belief that corporations do not pay their fair share of federal taxes would be up near the top of commandments. Corporations, thou shalt pay more. So, I am going to commit liberal economic heresy by making the case that liberals need to turn this belief on its head and take the position that corporations should pay no taxes.

I say this not because I am in the pocket of global corporations. I say this because the focus on corporate taxes distracts from the reality that corporations are not people and only people can or should pay taxes. We have gone down this fantasy that corporations are like other natural Americans with rights like the rights to due process, the rights to engage in political speech and soon, if the Republicans get their way perhaps even the right to vote. The Supreme Courts Citizens United decision has led to the total corruption of our political process by allowing corporations and their thinly veiled political action committees to buy the services of elected officials. This decision was largely based on the concept that corporations have rights.

If corporations doubled the amount of taxes they pay the federal government today, it would still represent less than 15 percent of total federal tax revenues. The fight to increase corporate taxes is a fools errand. We should change how we treat all corporations.

Many if not most small businesses form corporations that are also known as pass-throughs. These are S-corporations, LLCs and other forms where if the corporation earns a profit, those profits are allocated to the owners of the corporation who report those earnings on their personal income tax returns. We already have the structure to accomplish what I am suggesting. In effect, all corporations should be pass-throughs like S-corporations.

The shareholders of public companies only get their share of the profits when the boards of those corporations decide to distribute some, usually not all, of those profits in the form of dividends. What if this decision was taken out of the hands of the corporate bosses and all profits had to be distributed to the owners of the corporation? This would fundamentally change corporate financial behavior. Corporations might more likely be interested in expanding their operations by borrowing money than sharing profits with shareholders. Economists refer to this conflict of interests within corporate behavior as agency problems. And think of all of the brain power that is currently being used to avoid corporate income taxes could be repurposed into something that actually benefits society.

I dont think we as average tax-paying Americans should lose any sleep about how corporations might adjust to a reality that they have to distribute all their profits to shareholders. They have some of the best legal and accounting minds money can buy. Our concern should be on collecting the amount of money the federal government needs to do its job for the American people from the American people.

Shareholders would be paid their share of the corporations profits. Many shareholders would need those profits to pay taxes on their share of corporate profits. This would put pressure on corporate leaders to be better stewards of corporate resources. And it would force investors to stop treating their investments as tax-avoidance strategies.

Eliminating the corporate income tax would also eliminate a complaint of double taxation made by those on the right for years. Corporate profits are taxed and when dividends are paid out, the recipients then pay taxes on those dividends. Eliminating the first tax eliminates the double taxation.

Eliminating the corporate tax rate should only be done if it is combined with further simplification of the tax system. First and foremost, income is income. A second harmful delusion we suffer from is that income earned by those who own stock is different from income earned by workers, or income from people and companies who own commercial real estate. Income is income and there need be only one tax rate on all income in a given bracket.

This is not to say there should not be progressiveness in tax rates. If you are in the highest income bracket, your taxes should be determined by your total income regardless of whether it comes from rents, labor, capital, of financial shenanigans like carried interest, or distinctions between long-term and short-term capital gains. If we tax income progressively there will tremendous gains in the efficiency of the economy.

Eliminating corporate income taxes and simplifying our tax system is an important step to eliminating corporate abuse, malfeasance, corruption of our political processes, and the unproductive war between real Americans and fictitious pseudo-persons like corporations. I think we should call the right wings bluff on corporate income taxes and eliminate the corporate income tax. I suspect they would not be in favor of what I am suggesting.

Fred McKinney is the co-founder of BJM Solutions, an economic consulting firm that conducts public and private research since 1999, and is the emeritus director of the Peoples Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Quinnipiac University.

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Fred McKinney (opinion): Time for liberals to understand the truth about corporations - CT Post

Putting a bunch of Deep South conservatives and New England liberals together sounds like a recipe for fireworks. But a funny thing happened when that potentially combustible combination met online this fall.

Understanding. Civility. Maybe even friendship.

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute programs at LSU and the University of Southern Maine offered an eight-session opportunity for political opposites to talk with each other. When all was said, the participants found out they weren't quite as opposite as they expected.

That gives hope to the participants.

I had lunch with one of my fellow OLLI students just yesterday, and I asked him: 'Am I overstating the case here that most of us, the liberals and the conservatives, agreed on most issues most of the time at least to some extent much more than we disagreed? said Bud Snowden, of Baton Rouge. And he said thats absolutely right.

How can this be if, as pundits say, Americans are as divided as any time since the Civil War? The programs creator thinks the pundits have it wrong.

Mike Berkowitz, of Saco, Maine, organized and moderated the program. He says both traditional and social media have distorted Americans actual political and social differences, hyping the disagreements and obscuring areas of common ground to create the impression of an unbridgeable divide.

He said he believes if liberals and conservatives take the time to understand each other's beliefs and talked to instead of at each other, theyd be surprised.

So, Berkowitz started the Conservatives and Liberals; Not Conservatives vs. Liberals course.

The Louisiana-Maine program had participants meet on the Zoom video conferencing site for two hours weekly for eight weeks to explore the different philosophies on hot-button topics like abortion and gun control and to discuss their individual views. Berkowitz moderated the meetings and encouraged them to keep the discussions respectful.

Thats not to say the participants didnt come in with preconceived notions.

I didnt see compassion with conservatives, said Dorry French, of Falmouth, Maine, when asked about her stereotypes. Redneck, uninformed maybe I should quit while Im a little bit ahead.

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My stereotype of liberal northerners: rude, arrogant and condescending, Snowden said. That stereotype was dispelled. It really was.

The process of dispelling such stereotypes involved more than just conversation.

Berkowitz led participants through the book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, which explores why liberals and conservatives have different intuitions about right and wrong.

That established a way for the students in the class to see how those who profoundly disagree about things like abortion based their beliefs in something both sides valued.

Both conservatives and liberals have a lot of compassion, said Keith Fleeman, of Auburn, Maine. Liberals have compassion, it seems to me, toward the person who is carrying the child, and conservatives have more compassion, I think, for the fetus itself that it comes to term. Ive learned to see the compassion on both sides.

It made the point that it was about differences in values, not 'these people are stupid' or 'these people are wrong, said John Kovich, of Baton Rouge. The training helped a lot.

No one changed their political views, Berkowitz said, but that wasnt the point.

Rather, they discovered that they were more like their political adversaries than they suspected. They said their discussions were more productive than ones they attempted with family and friends and much better than those that take place online.

Those who participated said they enjoyed it so much that theyve discussed continuing the virtual meetings.

It made a huge difference to be able to look people in the eye, even on a screen, and feel like you were getting to know a person rather than just a set of opinions, Snowden said. That made a huge difference to me in terms of saying what I needed to say and to hear what I needed to hear. That wouldnt have happened in a purely digital exchange, I dont believe.

But being around Yankee liberals was a new experience. What I came to understand is these are just people like I am.

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Peace on Earth? Program shows how conservatives and liberals just might get along - The Advocate

Theres bad news for Scott Morrison, with polling predicting a heavy defeat for the prime minister at the upcoming federal election.

The results of the latest quarterly Newspoll analysis show Labor has increased its advantage and the number of seats it would win from the Coalition has lifted from nine to 12 based on the state two-party preferred swings.

This result would hand Anthony Albanese a majority with more than 80 MPs in the House of Representatives.

The polling also shows Labor on track to take two electorates held by cabinet ministers - Peter Duttons seat of Dickson in Queensland and Ken Wyatts seat of Hasluck in Western Australia.

It also showed the opposition likely to win the West Australian seat of Pearce being vacated by former attorney-general Christian Porter.

The analysis suggests that Victoria will have the smallest swing to Labor.

The 4.78 per cent swing to Labor in NSW since the last federal poll would see Mr Albanese gain the seats of Reid and Robertson, which are held by the Liberals on margins of 3.18 and 4.24 per cent respectively.

In Victoria, a 2.86 per cent swing to Labor would see it also pick up the Liberal seat of Chisholm, held by Gladys Liu on a wafer-thin margin of 0.5 per cent.

In Tasmania, assuming the national swing to Labor of 4.53 per cent is replicated, Mr Albanese would win the battleground seats of Braddon and Bass, which are held by the Coalition government on margins of 3.09 per cent and 0.41 per cent respectively.

In Western Australia, Labor would win the seats of Swan, Pearce and Hasluck - held by the government on margins of 3.2, 5.2 and 5.9 per cent - and also pick up the seat of Tangney, held by Special Minister of State, Ben Morton.

The Newspoll analysis shows that in South Australia, Labor is on track to win the seat of Boothby, which is being vacated by Liberal MP Nicolle Flint.

- With AAP

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Newspoll latest: Bitter blow for Prime Minister Scott Morison and the Liberal Party ahead of looming 2022 federal election - 7NEWS

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what's on the radar of our editors for the morning of Dec. 23 ... What we are watching in Canada ...

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what's on the radar of our editors for the morning of Dec. 23 ...

What we are watching in Canada ...

Quebec Premier Francois Legault announced Wednesday evening that his province had recorded about 9,000 new COVID-19 cases during the day, and he said the "exponential" rise in infections over the past week will necessitate new restrictions.

As of Boxing Day, he said, private gatherings in the province will be limited to six people or two-family bubbles. Restaurants, which are already operating at half capacity and have to close at 10 p.m., will also have to limit groups at tables to six people or two families.

Quebec has already requested military help to accelerate the province's mass vaccination campaign.

Meantime, Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, says Omicron is now the dominant variant in several provinces.

"There were over 11,300 new cases yesterday alone," Tam said Wednesday. That was up from an average of just 5,000 cases per day last week. She added, "modelling shows that by the beginning of January we could have very high number of cases, which underscores the need to act urgently now to reduce the acceleration."

To avoid a sudden rush on the health-care system, Tam urged all Canadians to do what they can to lessen the spread of the virus.---

Also this ...

A Liberal MP has found himself in hot water after defying advice not to travel out of the country unless the trip is essential.

Chief government whip Steven MacKinnon issued a statement Wednesday saying he is "profoundly disappointed" that Liberal MP Yves Robillard travelled outside Canada, in contravention of party instructions. Robillard has been censured.

The whip says Liberal MPs were told to avoid non-essential international travel as the COVID-19 Omicron variant increases its grip -- mirroring the government advice to members of the public.

MacKinnon said although Robillard is fully vaccinated, the MP's trip during Parliament's holiday break was not considered essential, and he will be removed from his duties as a member of the standing committee on national defence as a result.

MacKinnon, who did not mention Robillard's destination or reasons for travel, intends to talk to the MP about his decision to leave Canada when Parliament returns. Robillard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

---

What we are watching in the U.S. ...

WASHINGTON President Joe Bidens message to the American people on confronting the Omicron coronavirus variant comes with a heavy dose of cajoling as some other countries are issuing decrees to their citizens.

America's ideologically-polarized reaction to vaccines and masks, and its federal system in which states have broad authority over health matters, limits some of the options Biden can exercise at least without stoking political flareups that could distract from his urgent public health message.

Jen Kates, director of global health for the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation, says one of the major lessons the U.S. has learned from the pandemic is that politics matters.

We are a big country, we are a complex country, and on every issue, partisans are divided, she said. That, coupled with local control, and we end up with a disjointed response.

France has banned public concerts and fireworks displays at New Years celebrations while calling on people to avoid large gatherings and limit the number of family members coming together for Christmas. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and state governors agreed on restrictions to take effect before the new year, including limiting private gatherings to 10 people, closing nightclubs and holding large events like soccer matches without in-person audiences.

In the U.S., Biden has not issued fresh travel warnings nor urged the cancellation of public events.

On Tuesday, the president seemed to be taking pains to try to connect with viewers on TV. He avoided a catchphrase that he and other members of his administration have often used pandemic of the unvaccinated and instead tried to appeal to vaccine refusers as fellow Americans.

I, honest to God, believe its your patriotic duty, Biden said, urging the unvaccinated to get their shots.

He even invoked his Republican predecessor. Just the other day, former president (Donald) Trump announced he had gotten his booster shot, Biden said. It may be one of the few things he and I agree on.

---

What we are watching in the rest of the world ...

BEIJING China has ordered the lockdown of as many as 13 million people in neighbourhoods and workplaces in the northern city of Xian following a spike in COVID-19 cases, setting off panic buying just weeks before the country hosts the Winter Olympics.

State media say city officials ordered all residents to stay home unless they have a pressing reason to go out and suspended all transport to and from the city apart from special cases. One person from each household will be permitted out every two days to buy household necessities.

Xian on Wednesday reported 52 new locally transmitted cases of the coronavirus over the previous 24 hours.

China has adopted strict pandemic control measures under its zero-transmission program, leading to frequent lockdowns, universal masking and mass testing.

Those measures have been stepped up in recent days ahead of the start of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games on Feb. 4.

The Xi'an restrictions are some of the harshest since China in 2020 imposed a strict lockdown on more than 11 million people in and around the central city of Wuhan after COVID-19 was first detected there in late 2019.

Social media posts recorded panic buying of groceries and household products, with the government saying new supplies would be brought in on Thursday.

---

On this day in 1983 ...

Jeanne Sauv was appointed Canada's first female governor general. The former broadcaster and federal cabinet minister had also been the first woman Speaker of the House of Commons.

---

In entertainment ...

MINNEAPOLIS Court officials are edging closer to dividing up pop superstar Princes estate.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Wednesday that November tax filings show the Internal Revenue Service and Comerica Bank & Trust, the estate administrator, have reached an agreement in November on the total value of Princes assets.

The specific number hasnt been disclosed but it could be more than $100 million. The IRS last year determined Prince's assets were worth $163.2 million. Comerica put the number at $82.3 million. IRS officials felt Comerica's total was so low they imposed a $6.4 million accuracy penalty on the estate.

The Carver County probate court still must approve the agreement. The court is set to begin discussions in February on how to divide up the assets.

The estate likely will be divided between New York music company Primary Wave and Prince's three oldest heirs or their families. Primary Wave bought out all or most of the interests of Prince's three youngest siblings.

Prince died of a fentanyl overdose at his Paisley Park home in Carver County in April 2016. He didn't have a will.

---

ICYMI ...

A University of Calgary paleontologist says she has seen well-preserved dinosaur egg fossils before, but nothing like this.

The fossil, the subject of a new paper published Wednesday, is so detailed it's revealing even more about the deep relationships between dinosaurs and birds, their modern-day descendants.

Darla Zelenitsky says the find is of a 65-million-year-old type of theropod dinosaur called an oviraptorid, a species already on an avian evolutionary path.

First discovered in China about 20 years ago, the specimen is so completely preserved it reveals the posture of the soon-to-be theropod inside its shell. With its back curled up against the broad end of the shell and its head tucked in between its arms and legs, it looks much like an unhatched chicken.

Zelenitsky says "The skeleton is curled up in a birdlike embryonic pose." She adds "birds were thought to have a unique posture within the egg before hatching. It's evident from this fossil that some of these postures seem to have first evolved in their dinosaur ancestors."

It's the first time scientists have been able to see how dinosaur embryos were positioned inside their eggs. Previous egg fossils have been too fragmented. Zelenitsky says "this reinforces the link between those theropod dinosaurs and birds." That link is growing stronger as more evidence comes in.

---

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 23, 2021

The Canadian Press

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Quebec's COVID Count Rises and a Liberal MP gets Censured: In The News for Dec. 23 - Times Colonist

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NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has appointed new Liberal upper house MP Peter Poulos to the position of parliamentary secretary for Wollongong and the Illawarra - a post that has been vacant for almost two years. As part of the role, Mr Poulos will be responsible for liaising with NSW Government ministers on Illawarra-specific issues, as well as advocating for the region as a whole. Despite hailing from Rockdale, Mr Poulos is no stranger to the Illawarra, having spent almost a decade working as a staffer in the Wollongong office of federal Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, and says he is keen to hit the ground running. Read more: The moment a scared little boy finally embraced life with his Thirroul foster family "I see the Illawarra as a gigantic think tank that drives ideas, and my role is to help nurture those ideas and bring them to the government," he said. "I'm looking forward to getting down to the Illawarra and meeting up with as many people as I can." Mr Poulos said the premier phoned him before Christmas to give him the good news and a brief run down of the expectations that came with the new role. "He [Mr Perrottet] would like me to primarily coordinate all the ministers, ensuring they remain focused on the Illawarra region," Mr Poulos said. "He was very clear on me making sure I'm liaising clearly with them. He's appointing a number of parliamentary secretaries in the regions but he consider the Illawarra a focal area on interest." When asked what his priorities were for the region - and which ministers might be among the first to soon visit - Mr Poulos cited the premier's announcement earlier this month that his government would establish a new cities ministry, focused on bringing to life the expanded vision of the 2017 Greater Sydney Commission to include Wollongong, Newcastle and the Central Coast. Former transport minister Rob Stokes has been appointed to oversee the new portfolio, which Mr Poulos said gave taxpayers a clear indication that Wollongong was a priority area for the new premier. "My role will be to do everything I can to engage with the new minster for cities and get him to connect with the region to unlock its potential.," Mr Poulos said. The last parliamentary secretary for the Illawarra was former Liberal Kiama MP turned independent Gareth Ward, who held the position from April 2015 to March 2019. The Illawarra Mercury newsroom is funded by our readers. You can subscribe to support our journalism here.

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December 26 2021 - 3:51PM

Oversight: State Liberal MP Peter Poulos has been announced as the new parliamentary secretary for the Illawarra. Picture: Supplied

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has appointed new Liberal upper house MP Peter Poulos to the position of parliamentary secretary for Wollongong and the Illawarra - a post that has been vacant for almost two years.

As part of the role, Mr Poulos will be responsible for liaising with NSW Government ministers on Illawarra-specific issues, as well as advocating for the region as a whole.

Despite hailing from Rockdale, Mr Poulos is no stranger to the Illawarra, having spent almost a decade working as a staffer in the Wollongong office of federal Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, and says he is keen to hit the ground running.

"I see the Illawarra as a gigantic think tank that drives ideas, and my role is to help nurture those ideas and bring them to the government," he said.

"I'm looking forward to getting down to the Illawarra and meeting up with as many people as I can."

Mr Poulos said the premier phoned him before Christmas to give him the good news and a brief run down of the expectations that came with the new role.

"He [Mr Perrottet] would like me to primarily coordinate all the ministers, ensuring they remain focused on the Illawarra region," Mr Poulos said.

I see the Illawarra as a gigantic think tank that drives ideas, and my role is to help nurture those ideas and bring them to the government

"He was very clear on me making sure I'm liaising clearly with them. He's appointing a number of parliamentary secretaries in the regions but he consider the Illawarra a focal area on interest."

When asked what his priorities were for the region - and which ministers might be among the first to soon visit - Mr Poulos cited the premier's announcement earlier this month that his government would establish a new cities ministry, focused on bringing to life the expanded vision of the 2017 Greater Sydney Commission to include Wollongong, Newcastle and the Central Coast.

Former transport minister Rob Stokes has been appointed to oversee the new portfolio, which Mr Poulos said gave taxpayers a clear indication that Wollongong was a priority area for the new premier.

"My role will be to do everything I can to engage with the new minster for cities and get him to connect with the region to unlock its potential.," Mr Poulos said.

The last parliamentary secretary for the Illawarra was former Liberal Kiama MP turned independent Gareth Ward, who held the position from April 2015 to March 2019.

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Liberal senator Peter Poulos appointed to vacant parliamentary secretary role covering Wollonngong and the Illawarra - Illawarra Mercury

Star quick Jimmy Anderson says England's bowlers will not be blaming their faltering top-order despite the Ashes slipping away in record time. England's diabolical tour appeared to be turning around after a spirited fightback in the field saw Australia dismissed for 267 on day two of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. But the tourists' optimism faded in 58 minutes of carnage before stumps on Monday as they slumped to 4-31 - still 51 runs behind - and they will have to produce a mighty fightback to prevent Australia clinching the series 3-0. After six innings in the series, England's average opening partnership is just 7.5 while none of the three men used have passed 40. Anderson could not have done much more as the 39-year-old finished with figures of 4-33 from 23 overs, saying he felt like he was capable of taking a wicket every ball during a spell before lunch. "We're a team here, we're all working really hard to try and put in some much better performances as a group," Anderson said. "We haven't bowled great in the first two games, we knew we could have bowled better and have gone away and worked hard." "All I can see is how hard the batting group is working to get things right. It can be very difficult in foreign conditions against a world-class bowling attack." Australian opener Marcus Harris, who scored a career-saving 76 on Monday, is not feeling for his English counterparts. "Unfortunately, as an opener you get thrown into these situations a little bit," Harris said. "It's hard work, but it's probably no different having to go over and do it in England so there won't be much sympathy from me or (David Warner). "With our attack and how we're bowling at the moment, it's obviously a great challenge and we've bowled brilliantly all series." Australian Associated Press

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December 28 2021 - 3:31AM

Star quick Jimmy Anderson says England's bowlers will not be blaming their faltering top-order despite the Ashes slipping away in record time.

England's diabolical tour appeared to be turning around after a spirited fightback in the field saw Australia dismissed for 267 on day two of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

But the tourists' optimism faded in 58 minutes of carnage before stumps on Monday as they slumped to 4-31 - still 51 runs behind - and they will have to produce a mighty fightback to prevent Australia clinching the series 3-0.

After six innings in the series, England's average opening partnership is just 7.5 while none of the three men used have passed 40.

Anderson could not have done much more as the 39-year-old finished with figures of 4-33 from 23 overs, saying he felt like he was capable of taking a wicket every ball during a spell before lunch.

"We're a team here, we're all working really hard to try and put in some much better performances as a group," Anderson said.

"We haven't bowled great in the first two games, we knew we could have bowled better and have gone away and worked hard."

"All I can see is how hard the batting group is working to get things right. It can be very difficult in foreign conditions against a world-class bowling attack."

Australian opener Marcus Harris, who scored a career-saving 76 on Monday, is not feeling for his English counterparts.

"Unfortunately, as an opener you get thrown into these situations a little bit," Harris said.

"It's hard work, but it's probably no different having to go over and do it in England so there won't be much sympathy from me or (David Warner).

"With our attack and how we're bowling at the moment, it's obviously a great challenge and we've bowled brilliantly all series."

Australian Associated Press

Continued here:

England won't turn on batters: Anderson - Daily Liberal

England took some admirable steps forward before stumbling with four giant steps backwards on day two of the Boxing Day Test. Putting Monday morning's COVID-19 scare behind them, Jimmy Anderson led the English attack to their best sustained play so far in this Ashes series. But to continue the fightback, their top order had to stand firm in the last hour after trailing by 82 on the first innings. Instead, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland mauled them and the tourists were reduced to 4-31 at stumps. They need 51 to make Australia bat again and a miracle to force the Test into a fourth day. Captain Joe Root (12no) and Ben Stokes (2no) will resume on Tuesday morning. Anderson was careful not to apportion any blame as England yet again find themselves in disarray. "It's dangerous to start talking about, certainly as a bowler talking about our batting. "We're a team here, all working really hard, trying to put in much better performances. "All I can see from the batting group is how hard they're working to try and put things right. "I don't want to get into too much of a bowlers vs batters thing. We're a team here." Anderson led the way with 4-33 - he deserved a five-for - and felt it was the best he had bowled in Australia since 2010. "I changed ends today and felt much better ... I felt like I was challenging (with) every ball," he said. Asked why he was left out of the first Test, Anderson said he felt ready to go. "I felt I was fit for that game but the decision was made that I missed the game. So there is no point talking about that now," he said. After feeling "a little rusty" in the second Test, Anderson hit his straps superbly at the MCG. He and the rest of the England attack briefly had turned a potential COVID-19 "game over" into a third Ashes Test "game on". After two dismal losses, England must win the Boxing Day Test if they are to miraculously win the series and reclaim the Ashes. But Monday did not start well - England were kept at their hotel after four positive tests among support staff and their partners. They were only allowed to head to the MCG after all the players returned negative rapid test results, with play starting half an hour late. Anderson and his teammates had more post-game COVID-19 tests and he was unsure what will happen next. "We've not been told anything. That will get talked about by much more important people than me if and when those results come back," he said. "As far as I am aware the whole playing group feel fine, and the management in at the ground today feel fine." Australian Associated Press

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December 27 2021 - 8:48PM

England took some admirable steps forward before stumbling with four giant steps backwards on day two of the Boxing Day Test.

Putting Monday morning's COVID-19 scare behind them, Jimmy Anderson led the English attack to their best sustained play so far in this Ashes series.

But to continue the fightback, their top order had to stand firm in the last hour after trailing by 82 on the first innings.

Instead, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland mauled them and the tourists were reduced to 4-31 at stumps.

They need 51 to make Australia bat again and a miracle to force the Test into a fourth day.

Captain Joe Root (12no) and Ben Stokes (2no) will resume on Tuesday morning.

Anderson was careful not to apportion any blame as England yet again find themselves in disarray.

"It's dangerous to start talking about, certainly as a bowler talking about our batting.

"We're a team here, all working really hard, trying to put in much better performances.

"All I can see from the batting group is how hard they're working to try and put things right.

"I don't want to get into too much of a bowlers vs batters thing. We're a team here."

Anderson led the way with 4-33 - he deserved a five-for - and felt it was the best he had bowled in Australia since 2010.

"I changed ends today and felt much better ... I felt like I was challenging (with) every ball," he said.

Asked why he was left out of the first Test, Anderson said he felt ready to go.

"I felt I was fit for that game but the decision was made that I missed the game. So there is no point talking about that now," he said.

After feeling "a little rusty" in the second Test, Anderson hit his straps superbly at the MCG.

He and the rest of the England attack briefly had turned a potential COVID-19 "game over" into a third Ashes Test "game on".

After two dismal losses, England must win the Boxing Day Test if they are to miraculously win the series and reclaim the Ashes.

But Monday did not start well - England were kept at their hotel after four positive tests among support staff and their partners.

They were only allowed to head to the MCG after all the players returned negative rapid test results, with play starting half an hour late.

Anderson and his teammates had more post-game COVID-19 tests and he was unsure what will happen next.

"We've not been told anything. That will get talked about by much more important people than me if and when those results come back," he said.

"As far as I am aware the whole playing group feel fine, and the management in at the ground today feel fine."

Australian Associated Press

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England show fight before another collapse - Daily Liberal

Stephen Kershnars column (Dec. 15) headlined, Left has an advantage with higher learning cited very specific statistics from numerous studies purporting to show the overwhelming preponderance of Democratic vs. Republican professors and administrators in higher education, especially in Ivy League schools and several institutions he refers to as their peers, a situation he clearly finds both alarming and distasteful.

While I do not share his concerns about the political affiliation of these or any other college faculty members, I am truly curious to know how the statistics for these studies were gathered. I doubt very much that it is legal to ask for this information in a job application or interview, or that most applicants would see any necessity to volunteer it.

I was also unaware that political party membership is a matter of public record. If it is, did the researchers for these studies actually comb through voter registration rolls to identify every Republican and Democratic employee of the many colleges cited in Kershnars column? I find this unlikely in the extreme, calling into question the veracity of the studies Kershnar cites and his resulting conclusion that American colleges are some kind of hotbed of liberal indoctrination of todays youth.

I dont know what the college experiences were like for any of this papers other readers, but I dont recall any of my professors ever teaching their courses in a way that attempted to sway my political thinking. Perhaps thats because I graduated from the University of Georgia, rather than any of the elite institutions whose purportedly liberal biases so alarm Kershnar.

Questions of universities political bias aside, I think the important point here is for readers to always question not only sources of information, but the legitimacy of research techniques for any studies cited in them. As a principal of mine once said in reference to a state mandate for reading teachers to use research-based techniques: I can do research in my basement. In other words, not all research or conclusions are equally valid.

Mary Rees is a Dunkirk resident.

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Conservative column too liberal with numbers | News, Sports, Jobs - Evening Observer

Ive been a puzzle to a lot of my liberal friends. They cant figure me out. Over the years, more than a few of them have said: You cant really be a conservative. And when I ask why they would say that, they tick off a bunch of liberal assumptions about conservatives. I dont seem to be a racist, they tell me, or a homophobe or a sexist or any of the other sins they cavalierly attribute to conservatives. So how, they wonder, could I be a conservative?

My liberal friends may be dense but theyre hardly alone plenty of conservatives make sweeping misjudgments about liberals and other people with whom they disagree, too. But heres the dirty little secret about too many supposedly intelligent liberals: Theyre either clueless or nasty or both. They not only dont like conservatives in particular; they dont like ordinary Americans in general especially if they come from red states such as, say, West Virginia.

We just got proof of that from none other than a member of the New York and Hollywood glitterati, Bette Midler, who slimed the entire state of West Virginia, a state made up of a whole bunch of ordinary Americans, most of whom had the audacity to actually vote for Donald TrumpDonald TrumpHoliday caller to Biden: 'Merry Christmas and let's go Brandon' Biden's muddled trade policy US deserves a 21st Century Supreme Court MORE.

After Sen. Joe ManchinJoe ManchinStanding with Joe Manchin Biden finds uneven footing with Black voters Manchin told White House last week he would back some version of billionaire tax: report MORE (D-W.Va.) said he wouldnt vote for Joe BidenJoe Biden Harris tests negative for COVID-19 after close contact with aide Standing with Joe Manchin Holiday caller to Biden: 'Merry Christmas and let's go Brandon' MOREs multitrillion-dollar, so-called Build Back Better bill, Midler tweeted, He sold us out. He wants us all to be just like his state, West Virginia. Poor, illiterate and strung out.

Before we move on to Midlers non-apology apology, let me point out that West Virginia ranks higher than New York or California when it comes to literacy. There are a lot more people who cant read or write in the places Bette Midler hangs out than in West Virginia. But to Midler, West Virginia is where those hicks live, the ones who are too stupid and too strung out to know whats good for them. What else explains their support for Joe Manchin or Donald Trump, right?

Youd have every right to believe that liberals such as Bette Midler care about your average Joe. Liberals, after all, are always telling us how much they care about ordinary Americans. But a lot of liberal elites would rather walk over shards of broken glass than wash their hands in the same sink as an ordinary American. What Midler managed to do was expose what a headline in the Daily Beast calls an ugly brand of liberal elitism.

When her tweet hit the proverbial fan, she went back on Twitter to announce, I apologize to the good people of WVA for my last outburst. Im just seeing red; #JoeManchin and his whole family are a criminal enterprise. With apologies like that, who needs insults?

A lot of liberals talk and think the way Bette Midler talks and thinks especially when theyre in their safe zone, among friends.

Remember what presidential candidate Barack ObamaBarack Hussein ObamaUS deserves a 21st Century Supreme Court Biden, first lady make Christmas Eve visit to Children's National Hospital Climate, politics demand Biden get tough on auto pollution MORE said in 2008 about working-class voters in old industrial towns decimated by job losses? They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who arent like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

He never would make such a condescending statement in public and not only because that kind of talk wouldnt go over well in places he might need to win the election. That kind of elitist observation would have other long-lasting consequences. It would shatter Obamas liberal image. But he was among friends when he spoke about those ordinary, working-class Americans who cling to their guns or religion. He was at a fancy fundraiser in San Francisco, no less and didnt know his comments would get out.

Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonBette Midler is the latest liberal to pretend to care about the 'average Joe' Bill O'Reilly says Trump will run again Members of Congress not running for reelection in 2022 MORE, who was running against Obama at the time, jumped all over him, saying, I was taken aback by the demeaning remarks Senator Obama made about people in small-town America. His remarks are elitist and out of touch.

In case youre wondering, yes, thats the same Hillary Clinton who, in 2016, told her friends, at a fund-raising event in Manhattan that other mecca of American left-wing supposed sophistication that half of Donald Trump supporters fit into a basket of deplorables. And she was worried about Obamas demeaning remarks? She was upset with his elitism? Im not sure what Hillarys strong points are, but self-awareness doesnt appear to be one of them.

As for Bette Midler, youd think that by now she would have closed out her Twitter account. When Trump was running for reelection in 2020 and his wife Melania spoke in the Rose Garden on his behalf, Midler mocked her accent, tweeting, Oh, God. She still can't speak English, before adding, Get that illegal alien off the stage!

Wait a minute! I thought only bigoted conservatives made fun of people who dont speak perfect English. I thought liberals embraced people who came here from another country. And while were on the subject, when did liberals have a problem with illegal aliens?

As an editorial in the New York Post put it, The elite left literally cant conceive of legitimate disagreement: All of America that thinks differently is defective, a bunch of hicks and addicts. Progressives eternal blindness to their own bigotry is a marvel.

And thats precisely why Bette Midlers dopey tweet about West Virginia matters. I mean, who cares what some entertainer thinks? But its what she represents that matters. Its a brand of elite liberal hypocrisy that Midler exposed.

They cant stop telling us how much compassion they have for people less fortunate than the top 1 percent. But their compassion extends only to the less fortunate who agree with them. And when they dont, when they dont share the worldview of so many liberal elites, they see another side of elite liberalism the condescending, bitter side. Its the side the enlightened left usually reserves for talk with their like-minded enlightened friends.

Bernard Goldberg is an Emmy and an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University award-winning writer and journalist. He was a correspondent with HBOs Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel for 22 years and previously worked as a reporter for CBS News and as an analyst for Fox News. He is the author of five books and publishes exclusive weekly columns, audio commentaries and Q&As on his Patreon page. Follow him on Twitter @BernardGoldberg.

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Bette Midler is the latest liberal to pretend to care about the 'average Joe' | TheHill - The Hill

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Tax records reveal even more money flowed to liberal dark money groups in the leadup to the 2020 election as their secretive networks funneled millions of dollars into political contributions and spending, a new OpenSecrets analysis finds.

Sixteen Thirty Fund, a liberal dark money group that functions as a hub for sponsoring left-leaning projects, was not only one of the top donors to super PACs during the 2020 election cycle, it was also the biggest funder of other dark money groups steering funds to super PACs spending on 2020 elections. Over the course of the election cycle, Sixteen Thirty Fund routed around $60 million into political committees boosting Democrats in federal races and more than $200 million to other 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations that either spent directly on elections or gave to super PACs during the 2020 election cycle.

Overall, Sixteen Thirty Fund raised nearly $528 million in the two-year election cycle, according to tax returns reviewed by OpenSecrets and first reported by Politico. Its 2020 haul was more than double its prior year fundraising, and more than a hundred times its 2015 revenue of just $5.6 million prior to former President Donald Trump winning the 2016 election.

More than $86.2 million of Sixteen Thirty Funds windfall came from its sister 501(c)(3) group, New Venture Fund, which tax documents show raised over $965 million nearly $1 billion in 2020 from a myriad of anonymous sources.

Since New Venture Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, individual donors can write off their contributions as tax-deductible even though some of the nonprofits money is given to more politically active groups. Both New Venture Fund and Sixteen Thirty Fund give to an array of groups and causes with a wide range of levels of political activity.

New tax records reviewed by OpenSecrets reveal that New Venture Fund was primarily funded by multimillion dollar donations in 2020 with just eight anonymous donors giving tens of millions of dollars each in 2020 making up the bulk of its fundraising. Two donors gave over $100 million each.

While Sixteen Thirty Fund and New Venture Fund do not voluntarily disclose donors, some funders have been made public by foundations and other groups giving grants to them. Donors have included nonprofits linked to Swiss billionaire Hansjrg Wyss, Ebay founder Pierre Omidyar and liberal mega-donor George Soros.

As the networks revenue continued to balloon in 2020, so did payments from the network to Arabella Advisors, which runs the groups administration and management.

Arabella Advisors netted more than $45.6 million in 2020 from Sixteen Thirty Fund, New Venture Fund, Hopewell Fund and Windward Fund the four groups at the core of the liberal dark money network. The firm has taken in around $158 million from the four nonprofits since 2015.

More than $113 million of that was routed through New Venture Fund, the highest grossing nonprofit. New Venture Funds payments to Arabella Advisors rose from around $13 million in 2015 and 2016 to nearly $27 million in 2020. Arabella Advisors consistently received more payments from New Venture Fund than any of the networks other nodes, but Sixteen Thirty Funds revenue and contract payments have grown at a much faster rate that its sister 501(c)(3) funds.

The first year Trump was in office was the first year Sixteen Thirty Funds payments to Arabella reached seven figures with $2 million in payments for the year. The following year, Arabellas annual management fees climbed to more than $3.4 million before jumping to $9 million in 2020. Thats up from less than $240,000 in 2015.

Arabella Advisors also received large payments from other groups the firm helps manage.

The North Fund which received more than $20 million in grants from Sixteen Thirty Fund and New Venture Fund in 2020 paid more than $941,000 to Arabella Advisors in 2020 after reporting no more than $100,000 in payments to any contractor in 2018 or 2019.

While the 501(c)(3) nodes of the network are prohibited from directly engaging in partisan political activity, they can still steer significant sums to 501(c)(4) nonprofits which can become top spenders in their own right, or pass pass millions to super PACs spending on candidates.

New tax returns covering 2020 reveal that the Hopewell Fund gave more than $8 million to Acronym, a liberal dark money group with an affiliated super PAC called PACRONYM. The $8 million grant marks the largest contribution Acronym has received from the dark money network and its first contribution from the Hopewell Fund.

The tax records also show the Hopewell Fund gave another $1 million to Vote Forward, a 501(c)(4) that coordinated 17.6 million handwritten letters sent to voters in 21 states. A study by the Center for Open Science found that campaign boosted targeted voters turnout by 0.8 percentage points, reportedly translating to about 126,000 votes in 21 states.

Hopewell was not the only group in the network to ramp up its giving to groups focused on boosting voter turnout.

Nearly $129 million of Sixteen Thirty Funds 2020 grants went to America Votes, mostly during the final months of the 2020 election.

America Votes brought in $64.7 million during their 2018-2019 fiscal year, which spans from July through June, but raised just $29.4 million from July 2019 through June 2020 according to their most recent tax filings obtained by OpenSecrets indicating that Sixteen Thirty Fund poured at least $100 million into the group after June 2020.

Sixteen Thirty Fund also poured money into politically active dark money groups.

In 2020, Sixteen Thirty Fund gave $10 million to Defending Democracy Together, the top-spending 501(c)(4) dark money group that reported spending to the Federal Election Commission during the 2020 election cycle with more than $15.4 million in spending boosting President Joe Biden or opposing Trump.

Democratic dark money group Future Forward USA Action got more than $15 million in 2020 from Sixteen Thirty Fund. In addition to funding Future Forward USA Action, Sixteen Thirty Fund gave another $7.5 million to the hybrid super PAC affiliated with, and financed by, the dark money group. The hybrid PAC, Future Forward USA, poured around $100 million into ads backing Biden in the final months of the 2020 presidential race as it took $61 million from its dark money arm.

Also in 2020, Sixteen Thirty fund gave $1.5 million to Priorities USAs dark money group and another $4.5 million to the Priorities USA Action super PAC funded by the dark money group. The super PAC and dark money group both spent heavily during the 2020 election cycle.

Majority Forward, a dark money group aligned with Democratic Senate leadership that Sixteen Thirty Fund gave $3 million in 2020, poured around $85 million into ads mentioning candidates during the 2020 election cycle and poured millions more into seeding other top 2020 election spenders.

The Democratic leadership-aligned dark money group gave more than $51 million to Senate Majority PAC, a super PAC aligned with Senate Democratic leadership that shares the dark money groups staff and resources, along with millions more to various pop-up groups.

Sixteen Thirty Fund also continued to support a network of pop-up dark money groups that aired issue ads attacking Senate Republicans in swing states throughout 2019 and 2020. During the 2020 election cycle, Sixteen Thirty Fund gave more than $8.7 million to Piedmont Rising in North Carolina, $3.9 million to Advancing AZ in Arizona, $5.8 million to Maine Momentum, $5.6 million to Rocky Mountain Values in Colorado and more than $4.1 million to Iowa Forward.

The North Carolina-based Piedmont Rising received nearly all of its funding through Sixteen Thirty Fund in 2019. And $7 million of its $8 million haul in 2020 came through the fund, new tax returns obtained by OpenSecrets show.

During the 2020 election cycle, Sixteen Thirty Fund also gave $4.9 million to Environment America, which gave about $2.5 million to its affiliated super PAC.

Sixteen Thirty Fund also gave $1 million to the Environmental Defense Action Fund, which gave $6 million to the affiliated EDF Action Votes super PAC during the 2020 election cycle.

The network has also steered $3.2 million to the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the Center for American Progress 501(c)(4) arm, a significant increase from just $750,000 in 2019.

At least 66 CAP alumni went on to work in the Biden administration, Business Insider reported, earning it a reputation of being part of Bidens administration in waiting along with WestExec Advisors and providing a route for wealthy donors to quietly steer millions of dollars to an organization that effectively functioned as a feeder for the Biden administration.

CAPs 501(c)(4) action fund brought in a total of $27 million in 2020, its biggest haul yet, OpenSecrets analysis of new tax returns found. Four years earlier in 2016, it raised just $7.7 million.

Its 501(c)(3) arm got another $1 million from the network and outraised its prior year with a total annual haul of $50.7 million, slightly less than its all-time high revenue of nearly $51.8 million in 2017, the year Trump took office.

Unlike many politically active nonprofits, CAP partially discloses its donors by posting the names of corporate funders and some individuals on its website. At least four donors giving over $1 million chose to remain anonymous in 2020. And while CAP discloses some of its direct donors, accepting money from Sixteen Thirty Fund and New Venture Fund hides the ultimate source of funding.

CAP and its action fund did not spend directly on 2020 elections but did steer $4.5 million to the League of Conservation Voters, a 501(c)(4) that gave $15 million to its affiliated LCV Victory Fund super PAC during the 2020 election cycle. Over the course of the two-year 2020 cycle, Sixteen Thirty Fund steered another $7 million to the League of Conservation Voters.

The new tax records also show that Sixteen Thirty was the secret funder behind WorkMoney, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit created in 2020, first reported by Politico.

The union-linked dark money group received nearly $4.7 million from Sixteen Thirty Fund and another $1 million from New Venture Fund in 2020, according to OpenSecrets review of their most recent tax records.

WorkMoney reported around $262,000 in spending on the presidential race and Georgias Senate race but most of its spending during the 2020 election cycle was not disclosed to the FEC.

From March 2020 through the end of that year, WorkMoney spent more than $2.9 million on Facebook ads, mostly targeting swing states.

WorkMoney continued spending millions after the 2020 election cycle, announcing a $2 million digital ad campaign in May 2021 targeting incumbents to promote Democrats social spending bill and Bidens agenda in Congress. The dark money group has spent more than $4.2 million into Facebook ads in 2021, online ads data shows.

In August 2019, OpenSecrets received a $40,000 grant from Media Democracy Fund, which is sponsored by New Venture Fund. The grant helped fund OpenSecrets online political ad databases.

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Anna is OpenSecrets' investigative researcher. She researches foreign influence as part of the Foreign Lobby Watch Project, tracks political ad data, and investigates "dark money." She holds degrees in political science and psychology from North Carolina State University and a J.D. from the University of the District of Columbia School of Law.

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Liberal 'dark money' groups' revenue soared ahead of 2020 elections - Center for Responsive Politics